Olive + Shiitake
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 334 recipes, and they share 214 flavor molecules: the top 7% of all ingredient pairs.
Do olive and shiitake go together?
Yes. 334 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 214 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 7% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
Almost everything shiitake carries, olive has too: 214 of shiitake's 235 flavor molecules also occur in olive. Among the shared key aromas are decanal (soap, orange peel) and 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
What each one brings
olive
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 17% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 11% for shiitake. It carries 152 molecules shiitake doesn't have.
shiitake
The roast. Roasted notes make up 7% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 5% for olive. It carries 21 molecules olive doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Chanterelle: the best fit for both, top 6% of pairs with olive, top 1% with shiitake.
- Sesame: top 5% of pairs with olive, top 1% with shiitake.
- Pasta: top 5% of pairs with olive, top 1% with shiitake.
- Garlic: top 2% of pairs with olive, top 1% with shiitake.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with olive and shiitake
Almost always mains: 47 of the 49 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Almost all of shiitake's flavor molecules (214 of 235) are also found in olive, but olive has 152 that shiitake lacks. Shiitake gives you part of olive's character without most of its fruit. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 214 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 152 only in olive and the 21 only in shiitake.
Olive and shiitake questions
Do olive and shiitake go together?
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 334 recipes, and they share 214 flavor molecules: the top 7% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do olive and shiitake taste good together?
Almost everything shiitake carries, olive has too: 214 of shiitake's 235 flavor molecules also occur in olive. Among the shared key aromas are decanal (soap, orange peel) and 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
What goes with olive and shiitake?
Chanterelle is the best third ingredient: top 6% of pairs with olive and top 1% with shiitake. Sesame and pasta also fit both.
What can you make with olive and shiitake?
Almost always mains: 47 of the 49 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Brown Rice and Shiitake Pilaf, Marinated Tofu with Shiitake Stuffing, Moulded Seafood Salad, Shiitake Mushrooms and Avocado Sauce, Quinoa, Shiitake Mushrooms and Adzuki Beans.
Can I use shiitake instead of olive?
Only partly. Almost all of shiitake's flavor molecules (214 of 235) are also found in olive, but olive has 152 that shiitake lacks. Shiitake gives you part of olive's character without most of its fruit. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
Compare other ingredients
Ranks compare this pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. Molecule counts are what the studies and databases we aggregate have reported for each ingredient: a measure of coverage, not a full census. How we score pairs
Cite this analysis
Compound Kitchen (2026). Compound similarity analysis: Olive vs Shiitake. https://compkitchen.com/compare/olive-vs-shiitake. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_olive_vs_shiitake_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Olive vs Shiitake},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/olive-vs-shiitake},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.